Driving digital innovation through 5G technology, enhancing skills and supporting the local economy will be the focus of initiatives involving University of the West of Scotland.

UWS has been awarded funding totalling £985,000 by North Ayrshire Council, via the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, for two innovative ventures as part of the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region Project.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for UWS to establish itself as a regional leader in supporting businesses and industries in building 5G capacity and skills.

UWS’s Professor Muhammad Zeeshan Shakir

The first project, a Digital Connectivity and Innovation Centre (DCIC) set up by UWS, aims to create a wireless factory of the future to demonstrate the uses and benefits of a 5G mobile private network within aerospace and engineering in the Prestwick Aerospace Cluster.

The goals of the DCIC include the development of 5G use cases for aerospace businesses through portable private 5G networks, advance research innovation in 5Ga and 6G through open-source radio access networks (ORAN) and collaboration with national projects. These aim to build capacity and skills within businesses to support the adoption of 5G, leading to improved efficiency. 

The second project is aimed at fostering the development of a 5G ecosystem within Ayrshire. As a strategic partner with the local authority, UWS is leading the development within the region and beyond. The University’s approach involves stakeholder engagement and co-creation to achieve shared outcomes, alongside long-term planning and performance monitoring of the 5G project. This will take the form of publicly accessible framework documentation and strategies for the implementation of a dynamic, collaborative network, involving many connected stakeholders and projects, as well as a Digital Ambassador Programme, to foster innovation, education and collaboration. The 5G eco system will offer sustainability and allow stakeholders to adopt new and emerging technologies.

Both projects feed into several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.  

UWS’s Professor Muhammad Zeeshan Shakir said: “The aerospace innovation with 5G within UWS Digital Connectivity and Innovation Centre will provide businesses with opportunities to test and trial 5G use cases for aerospace industries, while also helping them build capacity and develop robust business cases—an area where UWS has an excellent track record through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).

“Building on our research on 5G and previous successful KTP projects, the DCIC will enable UWS to collaborate with national telecommunications facilities, drive innovation in 6G research, and foster skills and capacity development. The centre will not only support the region but also enhance collaboration, innovation, and education for all stakeholders."

UWS has a proud tradition of producing research that makes a demonstrable impact within communities. These projects will allow us to provide support to the industries and economy in the region, while carrying out research that benefits not just Ayrshire but Scotland and the wider world

Robert MacIntosh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation at UWS

“It’s a privilege to be involved with the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region Project and we’re delighted to have been awarded this funding, demonstrating we’re an institution that’s responding to the needs of our community in Ayrshire.”

Funded by the Department of Science Innovation and Technology, the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region project is being delivered by the three Ayrshire councils: North, South and East, and is supported by partners across education, technology, process manufacturing, aerospace, mobile and tourism industries. 

The 5GIR project builds on the successful innovation hubs approach in Ayrshire and offers the opportunity to test 5G and advanced wireless technologies and help key stakeholders within the region understand how they can be deployed in their organisation.

Selected as part of a UK-wide funding competition as one of 10 innovation regions, and one of only two in Scotland, this £3.8 million project aims to put Ayrshire on the map as a true digital innovator.